"High-concept" anime pitches

[GanChan]

"High-concept" is a Hollywood term for a type of film that can be described fully and briefly in a single sentence or phrase to a fairly stupid person. It is often applied to films that are obviously based around one single, generally over-the-top premise. Sometimes even the titles are high-concept, such as Snakes On a Plane, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, etc. Star Wars might be pitched as "WWII dogfights in space."

I was trying to think of how i could succinctly describe Utena to a non-anime fan, and the closet I could come was "The Three Musketeers meets The Prisoner and they write a bisexual Harlequin romance together."

Or Ah! My Goddess might be pitched as "Bewitched meets Norse mythology, then goes Unitarian."

You get the idea. Feel free to play along! :)

[KudosForce]

Alrighty then...


Fist of the North Star: The Road Warrior meets Bruce Lee, with a dash of Scanners and 300.

That was easy enough.

[Mr. Nail Bat]

Vampire Knight: Twilight with school uniforms.

The Melody of Oblivion: Utena, but with better breasts.

Mermaid Forest: "Who wants to live forever?" NOT ME!

.hack: Nothing happens.

To Heart: Nothing happens.

Kokoro Library: See ".hack" and "To Heart".

[E Nice]

Azumanga Daioh - Like Seinfeld, a show about nothing but set around high school girls.

[Doom85]

Azumanga Daioh - Like Seinfeld, a show about nothing but set around high school girls.

Wouldn't Lucky Star be more accurate?

[ZacksAwesome]

Azumanga Daioh - Like Seinfeld, a show about nothing but set around high school girls.

Wouldn't Lucky Star be more accurate?
Bingo!

[Collectonian]

Full Moon o Sagashite - little girl dying of cancer making friends with her death gods :P

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

I was trying to think of how i could succinctly describe Utena to a non-anime fan, and the closet I could come was "The Three Musketeers meets The Prisoner and they write a bisexual Harlequin romance together."

Interesting take on it.

My description of Utena to an anime fan who knows nothing about the series has usually been along the lines of "Evangelion with roses and duels instead of biomechs and angels." :sd:

Hmm, how about this for Moon Phase: "It's Castlevania, except instead of Simon Belmont Vampire Killer, it's Simon Belmont Vampire Onii-sama." ;)

[Suwako Moriya]

Fairy Musketeer Akazukin: Replace the musketeers with Snow White, Red Ridinghood, and Sleeping Beauty, and then throw a bunch of fairytales into a blender.

[Fencedude]

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Card Captor Sakura mixed with Mobile Suit Gundam and Super Robot Wars

Futari wa Pretty Cure: Sailor Moon meets Dragonball Z

[Classical]

I guess I'll take a shot.

The Big O: It's like "Batman: The Animated Series" but with giant robots.

[ibby]

I'll have a go at a few:

Black Lagoon - Wanted without the curving bullets.
Darker then Black - Batman with super powers.
Baccano! - The Untouchables with horror.

[Prede]

Le Chevalier D'Eon : The Four Musketeers with zombies
Red Garden: Gantz for the girls, with dog-men instead of aliens.
Kite: The Proffesional with porn
Kite Liberator : The Proffesional meets Alien awkwardly
When They Cry: Pretty much Shadow Star Narutaru's spiritual sequel by different people
Bubblegum Crisis : Terminator only with girls in cool suits
Ghost Hunt: Anime's own Ghost Hunters (the Sci-Fi channel's TV series)

How are mine? yah like em right?

[Mr. Nail Bat]

Bubblegum Crisis : Terminator only with girls in cool suits

Shouldn't that be Blade Runner instead of Terminator?

[Prede]

Bubblegum Crisis : Terminator only with girls in cool suits

Shouldn't that be Blade Runner instead of Terminator?

I just say Terminator because of the opening song in BGC (Konya wa Hurricane) sounds a lot like the club song from the first Terminator (Burnin' in the Third Degree), and the robot things just remind me of the Terminators, haha. Not for anything else really, haha.